Chapter 2007 — The Great One’s Appearance

"Referral? From whom?" Yuan asked.

"Only Sword Emperors and reputable swordmasters are allowed to give out referrals. Fortunately, we have someone in the faction who can give you a referral. I’ll contact them after this."

"Okay. What about the test?"

"Oh, it’s quite simple. Your Enhanced Sword Aura just needs to be powerful enough to damage the Sword Wall at the Holy Sword Temple."

"I see. Should be doable."

"By the way, what is your cultivation at right—" Senior Bai stopped his sentence midway when Yuan exuded some of his cultivation, as he’d been suppressing it.

"Peak of Immortal Ascension?!" Senior Bai almost couldn’t believe his eyes. The last time they met, Yuan was still in the Spirit Realm.

’His cultivation increased by an entire Major Realm in less than a decade?! At this rate, he’ll become an Immortal by our next meeting!’

"Is my cultivation not enough?" Yuan asked.

"No, there shouldn’t be any problems as long as you can use Enhanced Sword Aura."

Yuan nodded.

"Then there’s no problem."

He showed off his Enhanced Sword Aura, which had reached its maximum mastery long ago.

"Even in the Ninth Heaven, only a handful of prodigies have ever managed to attain Enhanced Sword Aura before reaching the Immortal Realm," Senior Bai said, swallowing nervously. "But none of them could hold a candle to your level."

"That’s only natural," Chu Liuxiang remarked in a prideful tone, acting like she was the one being praised.

"By the way... about what happened at the Dragon Spiral Mountain..." Senior Bai suddenly brought up the topic, his tone more serious now. It was an incident witnessed by the Celestial Overlords, after all.

"Are you okay? Do you know why the Heaven’s Mandate and the Celestial Emperor showed up, even causing such a major scene?"

Though Yuan trusted Senior Bai deeply enough to entrust his life to him, he chose not to reveal everything. He didn’t want to drag him into such a dangerous matter, especially with the Celestial Overlord’s situation.

"I don’t know why, but I think the Celestial Emperor doesn’t want me in the Nine Heavens," he said while shaking his head.

Senior Bai became silent. He was aware of the Celestial Emperor’s Curse, and while he never figured out why the Celestial Emperor would target Yuan, he knew there was something between them.

"If you ever find yourself in a situation that you cannot handle alone, don’t hesitate to rely on us—on the Celestial Overlords. Regardless of your rank, you’re still one of us, so as long as you didn’t commit any crimes, we’ll back you with our full power."

Senior Bai could tell that Yuan wasn’t revealing everything, but he didn’t press. He trusted Yuan—and believed that, when the time was right, he would share the truth on his own terms.

Yuan offered a grateful smile and said, "I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you."

"Anyway, I won’t intrude on your time any longer. I’ll leave now to speak with that individual who will give you a referral."

With that, Senior Bai left shortly after.

"Looks like you’ll be busy again soon, brother." Yu Rou sighed.

"Senior Bai didn’t mention how long it’ll take for him to get that referral, so I might still have some time left to spend with you," he said.

Not wanting to waste any time, they began chatting with each other, talking about their recent experiences and future plans.

Eventually, everyone but Yu Rou and Yuan left. The siblings spent the next week with each other like their last meeting.

"If I don’t show up for the next meeting, that means I have already left."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be okay... even if I’ll be a little lonely," Yu Rou said softly as she embraced him. "Now that you’ve regained your body, the thing I worried about most is finally behind us."

Meanwhile, after he left, Senior Bai reported to Xu Jiaqi about Yuan’s return and Kelan’s blunder.

"I see... so he’s regained his true body and traveled to the Nine Heavens with it..." Xu Jiaqi muttered to herself after hearing the report, a sense of relief washing over her.

"By the way, did you ask him about what happened at the Dragon Spiral Mountain?" she suddenly asked.

"Yes, but he didn’t say much. However, he’s definitely hiding something, though."

Xu Jiaqi sighed, "It’s fine. He probably doesn’t want to cause us any trouble. My father was also like that. He’d always try to solve everything on his own."

"Now then, about the Holy Sword Temple... I’ll contact that person myself," she continued.

Senior Bai smiled and said, "That’s relieving to hear. I don’t want to deal with that eccentric person."

"I know," she calmly remarked.

Some time later, after finishing her current work, Xu Jiaqi left to find this eccentric person to give Yuan the referral.

Meanwhile, at the Azure Dragon Clan, just as peace had become the norm, an unfathomable presence suddenly descended out of nowhere, blanketing their entire territory in a suffocating pressure.

Upon sensing the overwhelming presence, everyone in the city froze in terror. Not a single soul dared to move, let alone glance around in search of the source, as immense fear gripped their hearts.

Jiao Zhenhai and the others immediately stopped their cultivation and rushed out of their residences, moving toward the source of the presence, which was rapidly closing in on them.

However, despite the audacity with which this individual had unleashed their presence across the Azure Dragon Clan’s territory, not a single member felt offended, nor did they approach with anger. Instead, they felt a deep sense of humility, as if standing in the presence of something far beyond themselves.

Moments later, Jiao Zhenhai and the other clan members came face to face with the individual. He stood half-naked, his upper torso exposed, revealing a physique so flawless it was as though heaven itself had craved it. His long, golden hair flowed behind him with unnatural grace, swaying gently as if caught in a soft breeze, even though they were all submerged in water.

"The Azure Dragon Clan humbly greets the Great One!" Jiao Zhenhai and the others called out in unison, their heads lowered in deep submission and reverence, their voices echoing with solemn respect.